When Uber and Grab fails to find you a driver…
With GrabShare, UberPOOL and GrabHitch, carpooling is now part and parcel of our everyday lives. We love that the fares are marginally cheaper despite the awkward shoulder bumping and greetings that ensues.
Surely you’ve encountered notifications that Grab or Uber has failed to find you a driver – because their demand is simply too high at the moment. But it’s all set to get better when the local carpooling app Ryde launches its new service later this month.
Ryde basically connects private-car drivers and passengers using their Global Positioning algorithm. Depending on the distance, the app proposes a payment of between $5 and $15 – to defray the driver’s cost of the journey.
The local carpooling app is set to expand into the taxi-booking market, joining the likes of Grab and Uber.
In addition to finding drivers to hitch a ride with, Ryde’s users will be able to book a taxi from ComfortDelGro, the island’s largest taxi operator. It’s a win-win for both companies, since the partnership will expand ComfortDelGro’s taxi services to some 100,000 users who are registered on the Ryde platform, with a 70% passenger and 30% car owner ratio.
ComfortDelGro, which owns 16,300 taxis under the Comfort and CityCab brands, are in the midst of developing this booking referral service on their app.
The new service will allow Ryde users to book a carpool ride on ComfortDelGro’s app but the taxi operator will not be involved in the service. ComfortDelGro says that it has no plans to venture into taxi-sharing – for now.
Bearing in mind the stiff competition that is plaguing the taxi industry and ComfortDelGro’s recent flat-fare scheme, the jury is still out on whether taxi commuters will be open to sharing their ride.
With the Ryde app’s ability to link up users based on their travel routes, it is not unlikely that ComfortDelGro will shun out taxi sharing altogether. This means taxi passengers could be matched up with strangers via the Ryde app to share their rides, in return for a discounted fare.